While You Were Away
by picklefairy
Summary: Lace McClain just left. He just got up and left us. No word from him. No warning. Just gone and disappeared. And what do you think happened to his family while he was gone? Well, I guess thats just what the story is for.
1. Chapter 1

Veronica was walking back from her internship as an engineer. It wasn't a nice day outside but the refreshing and slightly damp air was better than taking the Tren Francés, only to walk a slightly smaller distance to her house. She knew it was going to rain but that didn't seem to be important at the moment. In fact, nothing seemed to be important in the past few weeks.

Veronica didn't even realize she was staring at her shoes until she stepped on a poster. Big red letters shouted across the front "MISSING" with other details following, including a picture of a boy with a face that was too familiar. She gently leaned down to pick up the outcast piece of paper. Her eyes scanned the dark skin that met at a pointed chin. Sly smile. Playful smile. Plastered on a face that she could barely bare to look at without crying. Blue eyed and boyish, always her flirty little brother.

She smiled at the poster before crumbling it up with her hands and doubling over as tears streamed down her face. Her pace picked up taking her all the way home. Here one moment and gone the next. The hot tears blurred her vision as she reached the door.

Or maybe that was just the rain.

* * *

Dinner that night was at it had been for the past few weeks. Everyone scrunched up together in the same room. The smell of food as taunting as always. Chatter surrounding the room in quiet mutters. The usually loud and bantering conversations gone, in its place a family, not knowing how to cope with the change. Someone needed to bring it up. Someone _had_ to. Veronica might just suffocate if she didn't addresses the elephant in the room. Silence began to take over the table. An imaginary clock ticking off the seconds that echoed through a room where people who spoke were to be feared.

She just couldn't take it.

"What if he doesn't come back?" She spoke loud and on the brink of tears.

This time the imaginary clock disappeared, revealing the sense of disbelief and discomfort that everyone was hiding under a mask.

Mamma's head shot up. You could see all of the pain and struggle in her eyes with one simple glance. It was an unspoken rule that the family had created. You don't bring up Lance in front of Mamma. She just might break even more than she already was.

"How do you know he left?" she said, voice raspy from sobbing in his room earlier that evening, "how do you know he doesn't want to come home?"

"I'm just saying… it's been two months and we haven't heard a single word. The garrison said that he disappeared. You don't think that's even slightly suspicious!?" Veronica flinched as she heard her voice rise.

"You think I haven't thought about that?" Mamma began to cry, Veronica never wanted to make her mamma cry but she was just on the brink of doing the same thing, "I worry every day that he could have been taken, or been in an accident, or lost somewhere with no way out! It doesn't matter! No matter where he is we can't do anything about it."

Veronica felt her tears well up. Everyone was left heartbroken when her family heard the news that Lance and two other students at the Garrison had gone missing. There was no trace of them. They had searched for an entire month and they would never have given up if their trail hadn't been so faint. The last hint they could find of Lance lead to space. Then that was as far as the sent went. The person crossing the river that cuts the hounds off from behind. No one could find him now. Not even cutting edge technology that they couldn't afford.

"They said the last they saw Lance was the day before a strange spacecraft went into space." she paused to wipe the tears from her eyes, "what if he's out there and needs our help!"

Mamma slowly turned her face down at her food, "Oh, Veronica, you know what I would give to look for him in space. You know how much we all miss him. It's just not possible for us right now."

Veronica slowly slumped back into her chair and felt tears drip from her chin. Where Lance was she just wanted him to be alive… alive and safe.

* * *

After half a year with no sign of Lance, people were getting better. They were still nowhere close to okay with it, but it was becoming more and more accepted that he wasn't coming home… possibly ever. Some even believed he was dead. That thought made Veronica fill up with a rage that could strangle a full grown man across the room. She wasn't going to give up on him. At least not _that_ easily. The one who was taking it the worst was Mamma. She wasn't getting better with Lance's absence… only worse. Now, there were days when Maria and Marco had to sleep in Veronica's room because they couldn't handle how Mamma was sobbing where Lance used to sleep. On those nights Veronica would hug them close and cover their ears until they fell asleep so she could do some mourning of her own.

Tonight was one of those nights. Everyone was especially emotional since that day, July 28, was Lance's birthday. The family dinner that had slowly become more like how it used to lost all of its positive momentum. No one even tried to break the deafening silence that spread like a plague across the dinner table, and when Mamma brought out a cake that would have been for Lance incase he showed up. No one wanted to. The only sound was that of the plates clinking as Mamma began to dishup the homemade dessert. Not like anyone was going to eat.

Everyone left the table that night only being able to stomach the garlic knots Mamma made special for Lance. Veronica almost wanted to throw up but once she saw the twins waiting outside her room with their blankets and stuffed animals, she could only think about comforting them.

"Veronica… what if he really is dead?" Marco's voice piped up from under the covers. Veronica wanted to cry as she pulled him closer to her.

"Who told you that silly thought Marco?" She asked as gently as she could manage without her voice cracking.

Marco paused for a long time until Veronica picked up the cue, "I won't tell anyone you know."

He let out a small breath, "I heard Papa and Luis talking earlier. They were talking about Mamma and her health. They said they didn't know how she would act if she thought he was dead."

Veronica held in a gasp that almost escaped her, "So you were eavesdropping hmmmm…"

Marco turned his head with a terrified look on his face. Veronica laughed, "I'm just kidding, you know I won't tell."

You could visibly see the relief on Marco's face. At that moment, it reminded her so much of Lance when he was younger that she felt tears touch her eyes. She gave him a noogie and turned his head away so he couldn't see.

"I'm not going to lie Marco, I don't know if he is." Veronica whispered, "but we both know that Lance would never give up without a fight huh. So I say there's more of a chance of him being alive out there then we'll know." _I hope_

Marco yawned and snuggled closer to Veronica, "Yeah that sounds like Lance. I miss him a lot."

Veronica nodded slightly and she realized Marco was beginning to nod off, "He loved us more then we will ever know. I bet he thinks about us each day and wishes he were here."

Then he was asleep, leaving Veronica with the thought that not only were they missing him, but Lance just might be missing his family where ever he was in the vast universe.


	2. Chapter 2

A little after a year since Lance went missing Luis stood in front of his mirror trying to pick which tie to wear to Lance's funeral. No one in his family wanted a funeral for Lance. No one wanted to believe he was dead. But the Garrison made the final call when after a whole year since he disappeared, he never showed up again. Luis heard Aunt Sofía come into his room still brushing her teeth with a towel on her head and a bathrobe covering the rest of her body.

"Don't wear either of those ties, they'll make your head look big."

Luis glared at her as she leaned against his doorway, she shrugged.

"Well, I don't really have any other options." Luis huffed, "it's not like this funeral really matters anyways."

"What? You mean you think he's alive?" Sofía said through a mouthful of toothpaste, "Even if that were true he abandoned his family! Thats never okay and you should think so too."

"We don't even know he doesn't want to come home!" Luis began to shout but quickly lowered his voice so Mamma couldn't hear him through the thin walls.

Aunt Sofía rolled her eyes, "Well, we need to know he's alive first and if we both know Lance, then you would know that he would have sent some sort of message to us by now."

"So you don't think he abandon us." Luis smirked as he caught her contradiction.

Sofía didn't seem surprised. With a slow shake of her head she disappointedly looked at the ground, "No. I think that he abandoned us. I just hope he did it without being able to send any word of where he was."

Luis's eyes softened as he understood the meaning of her words. She thought Lance was dead, even if he did run away he would have tried to contact them. He abandoned them by keeping them in the dark and now he was gone forever. Lance was never a runaway. In fact, he used to be so clingy and loud that sometimes Luis wished that Lance would be quiet for once. But, if you got to know him, you would see how much more there was to Lance than he lead on. Now, Luis would have given anything to hear Lance be clingy again.

The funeral was drab, as they usually are. Lance's photo was displayed with two others that Luis assumed were Hunk and Pidge. Once the ceremony was over, the McClain's moved to a seperate location that the garrison setup so each family could mourn separately. Luis saw them approach Lance's gravestone. A grave that didn't hold a body. Only one woman stayed behind as the other families began to branch off. She was standing, alone, in front of a picture of a young boy with large feminine eyes. Luis wouldn't usually have asked but he didn't feel like going to mourn his brother who could still be alive somewhere. To see a gravestone of his teenage brother that never was proven to have died.

"So are you here all alone?" Luis started off. The woman didn't react very much, only stared down the picture of her son. Too young to be missing it would seem.

"Yes… the rest of my family…" she took a deep breath before continuing, "the rest of my family had a similar fate as my daughter." She spoke quietly but firmly. _Oh he is a she_. Luis could clearly see the resemblance between the mother and her daughter. Her blonde hair the same as her mothers, though much shorter, and they had the same petite build. She stared at the photo with dead eyes, completely emotionless. Already been through this enough times to know how to deal with it.

"I'm so sorry." Luis consoled. He understood the feeling but wasn't anywhere near being ready to accept it, "I bet she misses you."

The woman nodded slightly, a few tears dropping off of her chin, "She could probably find a way to see me here with that technology and mind of hers."

"If you don't mind me asking… What happened to the rest of your family?" Luis asked cautiously.

The mother glanced at him but proceeded to answer, "My husband and son traveled together on the Kuberous mission with a man named Takashi Shirogane." She paused before responding quietly, "they were never heard from again."

Luis felt an enormous amount of sympathy for this woman. He remembered how upset Lance and Veronica were when the explorers had disappeared. He never thought it would have happened to Lance. Maybe not in the same way but still with the same premise.

They stayed there together for a while, simply looking at the young woman. Luis thought that she couldn't be any younger than fifteen, this realization darkened his thoughts. Just to think that someone so young, younger then Lance even, could disappear just as easily.

"Where ever they are, if they're still alive, then I hope they are all together." Luis said suddenly. It was one thing to be stuck in space, but to be stuck in space alone would be far worse.

The woman shook her head, "I used to think the same thing when I lost my husband and son to the Kerberos mission," She looked up at Luis then, her eyes were dim, or at least it seemed that way. Drained of all color and extra glossy from the tears she had shed. It looked like her eyes were a mirror, broken by a sledgehammer of tragedy. Slightly pink from crying too much and rubbing the tears away, "I've come to accept that they're gone. I will never know what is happening now or why they left in the first place, if they are alive then they aren't coming back."

Luis looked down at his shoes, tears began to stream down his face at the woman's last comment. She looked at him with empathy and understanding and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"If you want to talk about anything then you can call me at anytime." She smiled a soft but broken smile.

"Thank you Miss…?" Luis responded quietly as he wiped away his tears.

"Holt. Greta Holt." She smiled that broken smile again and wrote her number down on a tiny piece of paper, "don't be afraid to call."

Luis nodded and drifted off to his family, thoughts trapped between Lance and Miss Holt's tragic story. He knew that he most likely wouldn't call but still clutched onto the small scrap of paper like one would a lifeline.

The car ride home was unbearable. While Luis was squished in the car with Sophía and Veronica, Papa and Mamma were talking in hushed tones in the front. Luis, Veronica, and Sophía were quiet for the majority of the car ride until Sophía spoke up.

"Who was that woman, Luis?" she asked, her tone flat and tired.

Luis looked down at the phone number scrunched in his hands, "She was a mourner."

Veronica glanced at Luis, "by herself?" she asked curiously. Luis knew she was the strongest believer that Lance was alive and if she could, then she would try to find Lance herself.

Luis nodded, "yeah, her entire family was lost in space on the Kuberous mission." Luis started to fidget with his hands, he felt guilty even though he knew nothing was his fault, "Now her daughter is lost too."

At that the entire car fell silent, even mamma and papa who had been listening in on their conversation without them knowing. Everyone was just… speechless. They'd gone through a lot just losing Lance, but to lose their entire family would be…

The deafening silence that filled the car made Luis squirmy. Sophía seemed surprised but unaffected and Veronica's face had so much sympathy that Luis could visibly feel her hurt at those words. The worst though, was mamma. She began to sob. She began to weep in the front seat while everyone just stared at her, praying to god that she wouldn't break like when Lance first disappeared.

Papa moved a hand to her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze but she didn't seem to notice. All she did was cry the rest of the way home. Muttering small phrases like

"Oh that poor woman."

"She must be so sad."

"I couldn't imagine losing my family."

"I wouldn't be able to live if I lost all of them."

Veronica and Luis shared a worried glance. Mamma wasn't getting any better.


	3. Chapter 3

Greta Holt closed the door to her house and flipped on the lights unenthusiastically. She was grateful for the warm colors that flooded her senses after being covered in black all day but that was diffused when no one greeted her at the door. Her shoulders slumped and she sagged her way up the stairs so she could flop down on her bed. She stared up at her ceiling with her eyes glossed over, thoughts in other places than her house.

She let out a breath she was holding in and thought back to the funeral with the boy named Luis there. As much as she hated seeing him cry, it was better for him to know the more plausible option now then it would be to let him believe his brother was still alive out there. She felt a stab of sympathy for Lance. Based off of the letters that Katie had sent her, the boy was a good soul and full of passion. Even if they didn't get along sometimes it sounded like he was a good friend of Katie's, and Greta respected him for that. It was hard to earn her trust, much less get Katie to even make friends in the first place so the fact that he was able to was… well it meant a lot.

Greta didn't even hear her phone buzzing until it was on its third ring. She sat up and glanced at the name. It was an unknown number. _Luis._ She thought to herself.

The grieving mother quickly answered the phone, expecting to hear Luis voice, but she got an older, feminine voice instead. It was kind but firm with a spanish accent, and it was filled with more sorrow then Greta could ever imagine.

"Is this Miss Holt's residence?" the voice asked.

Greta took a breath before responding, "y-yes, this is Greta Holt."

"Oh good! I'm Rosa McClain, Luis's mom." She said, "I was wondering if I could talk to you."

Greta blinked for a second, "of course," she hesitated for a moment before asking, "If you don't mind, are you alright?"

A short laugh came from the other side, it sounded rusty, as if it hadn't been used in a while, "Why I was calling to ask you the same thing."

Greta knew that Rosa couldn't see her while they were on the phone, but she still attempted a weak smile at the sympathy that came from a woman she'd never met, "I wouldn't say _alright_ ," she sighed, "but I am getting there."

"Yes, I understand." Rosa took a breath, "losing Lance was like losing a part of myself."

There was a silence of understanding that passed between the two women, "I couldn't imagine losing my whole family,"

Without any warning, Greta began to cry. She sobbed on the phone while Rosa, no doubt, was saying sympathetic words to help with her loss.

"Your daughter was incredibly smart according to Lance. He would often talk about how Pidge would make her own technology in the garrison that surpassed the tools they were given."

Greta smiled, sniffing away some of her tears, "Yes, Katie would talk about what positive person Lace was. She said that he would try to persevere through any assignment, no matter how long it took him or how much he struggled with it."

After that, both women were crying on the phone but it wasn't as sad as it used to be. There was something kinder to it, almost fond. They knew each other's situations and were able to console each other for it. Greta believed it was the first time she'd felt a little more at peace then any other time since her family disapeared.

After they both finished crying Greta smiled a little, "Thank you for calling me." she whispered, her voice a little raspy from the sobbing session.

Rosa's voice was warm, a mother to the core, "I would call for anyone who had just lost a child. If you want to, you can call me anytime you wish to discuss anything."

Greta nodded, though she knew Rosa couldn't see her, "I think I will."

They said a few goodbyes before hanging up. They both had realized how much more at peace they were, now that they had talked to someone who _truly_ understood what they were going through. Even though that was the first call, it was clear to both of the mourning mothers that it wouldn't be the last

* * *

Rosa was washing dishes, four months after Lance's funeral. She could feel herself getting better after every Wednesday night talk she had with Greta. They would share motherly stories about their missing children and talk about how much they loved them even though it was highly unlikely that either of the children were coming home. The only thing that was helping them get better was how each person had such an understanding of the other's feelings. They could practically read each other's emotions the minute one of them said anything.

The rest of the family saw her progress, yet they still treated Rosa like she was made of porcelain. Luis wouldn't talk about Lance, only filling the space with small talk, making sure that his Mamma was doing okay. Veronica was busying herself with her engineering and wouldn't let anyone tell her Lance was dead so she simply kept to her room unless someone wanted to talk about space-crafts. The twins, Maria and Marco, seemed to have let go of Lance by now, playing with their toys like nothing had changed. Rosa's sister, Sophía, was out of the house at work with the children's grandfather, Abu, and Papa wouldn't talk to Mamma about Lance because their views were so different. She considered talking to Abuela about it but her mother was always stargazing now, seeing if her beloved grandson would come home one day. She did _not_ like being disturbed when she was searching the skies for an alien ship.

So, Rosa was left to her own devices when thinking about Lance. She would do all of her regular duties when thinking about him, sometimes it made her cry, sometimes it made her smile. Today she was smiling. She was remembering how Lance was drew a picture of the whole family in space when he was younger.

"Why are we in space?" Rosa had asked her nine year old son.

He smiled a toothy smile, "Because in space, we can build a giant house so the whooooooole family can fit!" he waved his arms around like he was flying on a plane, "And I can explore space and bring you back the coolest photos and space rocks!"

Rosa had smiled and taken the drawing from him, "well that sounds just perfect doesn't it."

Lance nodded and beamed up at her, "I can become the best pilot in the galaxy and Veronica could engineer the best spaceships! And you guys could all stay happily together in the big house."

That made Rosa so happy in the day. She had put the drawing into safe keeping just to make sure that nothing would ever happen to Lance's dream. She would be the most supportive mother in the world.

A sudden phone call took her away from her thoughts. She dried her hands from the dish water and quickly answered after realizing it was Greta. But it was a Monday, she shouldn't call for another two days.

She heard an overly happy voice come from the other side of the phone, "Oh Rosa! It's amazing! It's a miracle! Its-"

Rose cut her off, her chest blooming with curiosity and hope, "whats a miracle? What is it?"

A short breath came from the other side of the phone, it sounded like it was containing excitement, "My husband and son came home!" Rosa smiled, a little disappointed but still ever so happy for her friend. That feeling must be amazing.

"I'm so happy for you!" she smiled into the phone.

"But its not only that!" Greta paused, leaving Rosa's curious ears to dread every second of waiting, "They brought messages, all of the missing children- everyone- is alive!"

Rosa's mind froze. Her eyes grew wide and she almost dropped her phone. Hold on. Don't get to happy yet. Make sure you know for _sure_ that you heard properly.

"Wh- what?" she could hear her voice sound so breathless and hopeful on the phone.

"Your Lance is alive. I have the video message to prove it." Greta responded, she sounded absolutely radiant.

A smile split Rosa's face in two. Her eyes began to fill with tears and she sunk to the floor. He was alive. He was alive and sending them a message. She heard a true and pure laugh escape her mouth as she hugged her phone closer to her ear. _Lance is alive._

"He misses you, according to my husband. I haven't seen the message but he started crying when they mentioned you…" Greta's words were drowned out my Rosa's explosion of happiness and relief that burst from her bosom. She couldn't stop smiling, or crying, or laughing that relieved and exsatic laugh.

"I'm going to text you the message. I haven't watched it but it sounds like it was recorded from about five months ago." Greta continued.

"Thank you." Rosa responded. She'd never felt so happy in her life, "thank you, thank you, thank you."

A contented sigh went through the phone. Rosa knew that Greta had done the exact same routine when her Husband and son had returned, "We will see them again Rosa. Don't give up any hope."

They said goodbye to each other and Rosa simply waited for the message to appear on her phone. A few minutes later, a ding sounded, alerting Rosa that the video was here. She scrambled to pull it up on her phone and sank to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest as she watched the video, all of her attention on Lance's face.

* * *

" _Uhh… Hey guys." a small smile_

" _I know that you have no idea where I am, you're probably worried sick, but I just wanted to let you know I'm okay" He looked fondly into the camera_

" _I miss you."_

" _A lot"_

 _A breath_

" _Mamma I just want you to know that I'm okay. I'm in space." He rubbed the back of his neck_

" _It's a little hard to explain… but I'm defending the universe now."_

" _It can be dangerous, but It'll all be worth it when I come home."_

" _I hope you guys have been okay without me."_

" _Take care of abuela, tell the twins I'm okay."_

" _Make sure you tell Veronica that if she isn't trying to get into the garrison anymore that I'll whoop her butt when I'm back." casual smirk_

" _Mamma, I'm going to come home. I would never leave you." He began to get teary_

" _I miss you guys so much-" tears streaming down his face_

" _I will come back and see you again, no matter how hard I have to fight- I just- I love you guys so much- I can't wait to see you again- I just want to come home- please know that I love you and miss you."_

 _A deep breath_

 _Wiping tears away_

 _Small, genuine smile at the camera again_

" _I can't wait to come home. Just don't give up on me yet."_

" _See you soon."_

 _End call_

* * *

notes: So I don't really know how this works :/. This is my very first fanfiction and I'm still learning how to use this website but I'm glad that people are liking the story so far! A lot of you really wanted me to add the video call in there and it was my plan from the start so I decided to make it now! Originally, I was going to make it so that Matt Holt was sending the tapes through the mail until I remembered that this was in the future and they could probably get it to be a video like on a text message, so this was how it ended up. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)


	4. Chapter 4

Veronica was scrunched in the kitchen with everyone else in the family. Mamma replayed the video for the sixth time and everyone watched intently as they savored every word Lance spoke. Mamma and Veronica were bawling their eyes out as they looked at Lance. He was okay. He was _alive._ He missed them so much too. After his "see you soon" Mamma stopped replaying the video and turned to look at everyone's faces. Veronica could see the range in expressions like a rainbow. She and Mamma were crying with red cheeks and bright smiles on their faces. Luis has the most relieved look on his face, studying Lance's features like he still didn't think it was real. Maria and Marco were excitedly discussing the new appearance of their brother and already planning for when he came back.

 _When_ he comes back.

Veronica couldn't help but widen her grin at that. Lance was doing exactly what he'd dreamed of doing when he was younger. He was protecting his family even though they hadn't known it. Something suddenly occurred to her.

"So when does he come home?" Veronica asked Mamma quietly. Mamma's head shot up for a moment. Her eyes went skyward as she thought.

"I asked Greta, she said that this video was taken five months ago but I don't really know much else." She responded as if solving a puzzle with each word, "so that means… he could either be on his way to us right now or…"

Veronica saw Mamma's smile fall.

"Or he's still out there protecting us." Veronica finished for her. No one else seemed to be paying attention, still caught up in the excitement that Lance was actually alive.

"You said that Greta's husband actually met with them, correct?"

Mamma nodded, "Her husband and her son met them. They call themselves Voltron."

"Voltron?" Veronica laughed a little bit, "like a superhero name voltron? Like they have a boy band and named it "Voltron" Voltron?"

Mamma didn't seemed amused so Veronica just scoffed, "Right, anyways, could we maybe meet with them?"

"I mean, they live very far away from us, not only that but just to talk about when Lance might come home." she paused for a moment, "I think it would be better that we video call them rather then _meet_ with them."

Veronica nodded, "yeah, okay, when could we do that?"

Mamma was thinking again, Veronica could see the gears grinding in her head. She was definitely uncertain, _very_ uncertain, but she wanted Lance to come home more than anyone so, that made it twice as likely that Mamma would figure it out.

"I'm not sure…" Mamma was nibbling at her nails as she thought, "I could ask Greta, we would need to set up a specific time to do it-"

"Is it possible that I could talk to them?" Veronica said flatly, less like a question and more like a statement.

Mamma looked up from her thoughts, "yes, it would be possible. It'll take a few days to set up, and we have to consider the time difference, but I'm sure that we could do it."

Veronica smiled. She knew Mamma would figure it out. Then she would be able to figure out what was happening while they were out in space. She would be able to know when Lance would be coming home.

* * *

It was a few days later when Veronica and Mamma were waiting at the computer, seeing if the call would go through. A large loading screen was displayed on the monitor. Veronica looked at Mamma's, seeing the screen displayed in the reflection of her eyes. There was so much hope in every fiber of her being. Now that she new Lance was alive she just wanted him to come home. A small swishing noise came from the computer, diverting Veronica's attention. The call had finally gone through and no one said anything as they waited for the Holt's to appear on the screen.

…

" _Hello? Is this the McClain residence?"_ a Man with grey hair and kind eyes greeted them.

"Yes! I am Veronica and this is my Mamma Rosa." Veronica quickly explained, "We wanted to know if you could tell us anything about what Voltron is and why the space cadets are still out in space."

"And when they will come home." Mamma added on to Veronica's statement with a sternness in her voice that wasn't present before.

"Woah slow down." He responded with a small laugh, "okay yes I'm happy to answer your questions but that was a lot at once."

"I'm sorry Mr. Holt." Veronica sheepishly responded.

"Please, call me Samuel, and it's perfectly fine." He was very calm. Only moving his hands for subtle emphasis, "I had just as many questions when I was first dragged into this so ask as many as you want. I just ask that you slow down a bit so I can hear what you're saying."

"Okay." She said, slowing herself down, "Then if you don't mind. Could you start with what they're doing?"

* * *

Lance was flying the red lion in formation with the other paladins. He rubbed at his eyes and slapped his face to try and keep awake.

"Lance, did you just slap yourself?" Hunk spoke through the comms. He sounded worried but they were all so tired that it could have just been confusion.

"Yep." Lance responded, little to no enthusiasm, "I'm not going to be able to stay awake much longer."

There were a chorus of grunts in response. Including from the back of his lion where Coran was trying to rest. Between the attacks that Zendak was raiding them with, and the distance they had to travel each day to get closer to Earth, everyone was struggling to find the energy to stay awake.

"Allura, how much longer until we reach Earth?" Lance asked with a wine.

"Well, I'd be able to tell you if we still had the castle, in fact we would be able to wormhole there but…" She stopped and everyone went silent.

"Could you make a guess?" Shiro asked, his voice was rough.

"Well…" She yawned in the middle of the sentence, "we've been flying for about 120 quintents so I'd say we probably have at least 90 quintents to go."

Lance groaned, "Pidge, I'm too tired to translate that, can you just…"

Pidge sighed, "It means we've been flying for four months and have three months to go."

Everyone let out a frustrated groan except for Allura and Coran who did so earlier.

Lance daydreamed of home. The beach, his family, the food, the customs. He got this lovingly fond looking on his face when thinking about it. Why couldn't they just _be_ there already! Why did it have to take so long to get back home. He couldn't wait to see what Coran and Allura would do once they were on Earth, or how they would react to the customs of their planet. Everyone would love his family. Hopefully Veronica had gotten into the garrison, and maybe they weren't mad at him for leaving if they got his message. Keith would love his Mamma, even though they'd never met Lance kne-

"Guys we have incoming!" Hunk's voice rang out through the comms, tearing Lance away from his daydream. They all saw the fleet of Galra ships that were flying full force at them. Another groan rang out through the team.

"What's the plan Keith?" Lance asked, about ready to tear his hair out from the constant attacks.

"Lance you get the three on the right and lead them away from our group," Keith commanded

"On it!"

"Pidge and Hunk, I want to you to take on their main ship in the middle, then they can't send out anymore fighters."

"Right! On our way!"

"Hold on Allura, I'm going to take out the rest." He said. Allura grabbed onto a makeshift handle so she could stay put during the flying, Shiro helping her.

Lance lead the three away, just as asked. Flying a full speed, he leaded strait into a star, knowing his lion was faster than the smaller ships. He was about to turn up when something T-boned him, throwing him off to the side and sending out of control. It felt like someone and turned his lion into a washing machine and he just couldn't stop it. Lance blindly sent his lion to go upwards, trying to fly away from the ships. _What was that?!_

Once his vision cleared Lance saw bright light flood his vision as he flew straight into the star.

"HOLY MOTHER OF-" Lance shouted, trying to turn his lion up as fast as he could, "GO UP, GOUPGOUPGOUPGOUPGO-" his lion's sudden response at the very last second sent him flying in the opposite direction, off balance, "AHHHHH, QUIZNACKING F-"

Everything was spinning around him and he didn't know which way was up. His lion suddenly crashed into two of the galra ships. Both exploded, making his spacecraft rumble and blur Lance's vision even more. It was at these times that he understood where Hunk was coming from when they went to the Garrison.

"LANCE. I'M STILL IN THE BACK YOU KNOW." Coran's voice piped up from behind him. Lance thought Coran was going to be sick.

"Sorry Coran." He responded though he sounded a million miles away, "I got two of the ships, I just have to find the third."

Once Lance was finally able to see again, it appeared the third ship had floan off. That's what he was supposed to think anyways until he caught something in the corner of his eye. Normally, he wouldn't have thought anything of it, the small burst of motion could have been anything, but the fact that it was moving directly behind him made Lance think that there was a more sinister reason for it. Lance was no idiot. He pretend to still be looking while the cloaked ship flew up behind him silently. He waited until the very last minute to turn around and explode the ship with one beam of Red's tail.

Lance smirked. Coran sighed relief, "Oh thank mother that's over! I was about to cover the ship in slosh."

"Lets head back to the team," Lance said, Coran nodded his response.

The battle was over by the time Lance got back to the other paladins.

"How'd it go down here?" Lance asked as he flew into position.

"I don't know how many more of these battles I can take," Hunk responded, tiredness seeping into his voice.

"We have to focus on getting home." Keith said, a hint of sleepiness showing up in his voice, "Its the only way we can build another castle of lions."

"Uh, yeah and how long will that take?" Lance questioned.

"It could take a while depending on the materials we need and if the galra get to us before its done, not to mention the techniques we need to learn- because we're using Earth materials -"

Everyone groaned.

"Pidge we get it."

"We know its not gonna be-"

"Why did I even ask?"

Keith took over the conversation, "That doesn't matter, we need to get back in formation and try to get back to Earth as soon as possible."

No one objected to that statement and everyone continued flying in silence. Lance couldn't help but think about something though. If the galra were really tracking them and they flew directly to Earth, wouldn't that mean that Earth would be vulnerable to the attacks? He didn't know long they could stay there and fend off the galra until some of the people got hurt too. For now all he could do was take a deep breath and fly onward.


End file.
